


maybe, it'll be alright

by jeweljulie



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst?, F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, a lot of fluff okay, its implied that they do the do lmao, just implications, no descriptions or anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 22:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6301969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeweljulie/pseuds/jeweljulie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's 18 now. So is she. She's supposed to be, anyway. </p><p>They never found her body. They don't know if she's dead, and he'd prefer if they didn't give an answer, because there's a large chance that she is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	maybe, it'll be alright

She wasn't there. 

Adrien had gone to school every single day for two weeks, peering at the door every second he spent there. He was waiting. Waiting for _her_. It was obvious. 

The bags under his eyes grew and his face only got paler every night that passed. His eyes were often swollen and red, and it was clear that he had been crying. He yearned for her, and he only realized it when she went missing. 

So here he is, on Night #15, burying his bead into his friend's shoulders, salty tears staining Nino's shirt as Adrien's body shook with heart-wrenching sobs and a crushing grip around Nino's torso. 

He simply stroked Adrien's hair as Alya sat on the other side of him, using his shoulderblade as a pillow while she peacefully snored. 

"Shh, shh, Adrien, it's fine," Nino frowned at his friend's shaking figure. 

"Why do you care for Marinette so much, anyways?"

Now, that caught Adrien's attention. 

He actually wasn't sure why. 

Marinette was probably the sweetest, smartest, and the most amazing girl he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. She's incredibly talented and had the type of beauty that was able to take your breath away, the way her ocean blue eyes glimmered, to the way the freckles scattered over her perfect, button nose, to the way that when perfectly plump lips spread into a smile, it was able to reach her eyes in a way that makes your breath catch in your throat and your face to go a dark shade of crimson. 

Her passion seared into her designing, sewing, and baking, and the way she described anything, so animated and filled with good will and motivation. His cheeks burned just at the thought of her. 

There was something else too, not that he'd ever admit it. 

Adrien shook his head, wiping away his tears with the sleeve of his jacket. "I'm sorry, Nino, it's just been rough.."

Nino nodded. "It's fine, man, I totally understand it. After all, if the girl I loved just disappeared, I'd kinda be racked up, too."

Adrien coughed, his face going ablaze as Nino chuckled. "I don't love her."

"Puh-lease," Nino teased. "It's obvious. Everyone knows."

"Maybe _a little_ ," Adrien admitted. 

"That's my man."

* * *

Adrien stopped breathing. Why is he here? 

It made him wanna break down all over again as he pushed open the door and he wasn't greeted with the normal warmth that spread to everyone or the delicious waft that carried through the air as the bell rang at the top of the entrance to the bakery. 

He almost had a heart-attack when he looked at Tom. He is an absolute mess. 

The man's dull eyes dragged and he no longer had the body of a very fluffy teddy bear. It looked as if he had lost 30 pounds in the last month, which made Adrien feel petrified. 

Sabine was in even worse condition. She didn't have a trace of a cheery expression on her face, she dragged her feet when she walked, and she was starting to get a hunchback. 

"Mrs. Cheng, Mr. Dupain, with all due respect... you guys look absolutely terrible and I'm quite scared for you."

Said couple jumped in surprise and peered back to the young boy, who was waving his hand with an awkward smile. 

"You should really shut down the bakery for a while," he continued. "You aren't taking nearly enough care of yourself as you're supposed to be."

Tom let out a hollow laugh. "We can't. We'll go broke."

"I'll help with finances," Adrien offered. "Don't worry about it." 

Tom shook his head. "My boy, we can't ask you to do that. 

"I insist."

Sabine's eyes watered. "God, bless you, you amazing child."

This was the first time Adrien gave a genuine smile in weeks. "It's the least I could do."

* * *

It's not like he loved every single fiber of her being, her powerful presence making him weak in the knees and warm in the face.

... Okay. Maybe that's exactly what it was. 

He's 17, God damnit. Why can't he handle this? 

The tears only streamed faster as he reflected on the past two months. She's still missing. That spark that he had in his eye every day he went to school was gone. He's no longer Adrien Agreste, beautiful robot with a mask. He is now the pitiful shadow, the human. Class got quieter. Lunch wasn't as exciting. The hallways were filled with piercing silence. 

He slid down to his knees as he thought of the Ladyblog. Alya took it down after Ladybug's disappearance and Marinette's disappearance coincided and an epiphany settled upon her. 

" _I'm sorry_ ," he whispered. He wanted more than anything to know that she's safe. " _I'm sorry_ , My Lady. Your knight in shining armor failed you."

A warm breath ghosted over his ear, and for a minute, in this lonely alley, he could've sworn he heard someone whisper _"Kitten."_

* * *

It's officially been a year. Adrien moved in with Tom and Sabine. Hawkmoth stopped his attacks. 

He's 18 now. So is she. She's supposed to be, anyway. 

They never found her body. They don't know if she's dead, and he'd prefer if they didn't give an answer, because there's a large chance that she is. 

Alya went to America to continue her career in journalism, Nino went there to study abroad and create his DJ business, Chloé went to Brazil for some "one of a kind experience", and Adrien just stayed in France. 

He prayed. He prayed, every day, that she'd appear again. 

Hawkmoth has surrendered his miraculous back to Fu. The peacock miraculous was returned alongside the butterfly one, while the honeycomb was given to a new holder, who named herself 'Queen Bee', and coincidentally corresponded in Brazil. Adrien kept Plagg as a friend to talk to, and sometimes, someone to just vent his feelings to. 

He woke up with a start on a Saturday night, sweating bullets and sobbing into his pillow. 

He heard shuffling. He heard his window being opened, and a red blob flying into the room. 

 _"Let me introduce myself,_ " it sang. _"I am Tikki."_

It was battered up, with a burn scar in it's large head and a tear in it's wing. 

"No, I don't know where she is. Don't ask me," it told him, with a bitter look occupying her large, bright blue eyes. 

 _"Okay,"_ he simply breathed. 

* * *

Five years. 

It has already been five years since she's disappeared. 

Chloé's now Brazil's official protector, Alya came back to France to help Adrien run the bakery, and Nino's still being Nino. Sometimes, he comes to France to DJ for a party and drops in just to catch up. Gabriel was arrested for his crimes against Paris three years ago, and the 'Gabriel' brand went down in flames. 

The ladybug miraculous is still nowhere to be seen. Marinette probably has them, wherever they are. 

Tikki and Plagg are somewhere, doing god knows what, Alya and Nino keep a steady relationship going while juggling the responsibility of jobs, and Adrien's sprawled against the living room couch, knocked out. 

Sometimes, he still hears her laugh that makes his heart soar in his chest and his head to pound. 

Once he wakes up, he decides to go get a physics major. He'd not sure why, but he'd like to be a physics teacher. 

* * *

Ten years. 

Ten years since Marinette has gone missing. 

Alya is sporting a diamond-encrusted, silver ring on her ring finger, identical to Nino's. She has a tiny baby bump and is now doing her job from home. 

She and Nino have a cozy apartment where they settled in two years ago after their honeymoon, and Nino's business is the most popular DJ business in Paris. He only takes jobs in France now, always riding in style. 

Chloé has come back to France with a Brazilian babe as a boyfriend, who says that he's a model, but by the look in her eyes, Adrien can tell that she doesn't care about his fame or money. When she looks at him, he can she that she's _absolutely infatuated_  with him. He's happy someone can make Chloé that joyful. 

Adrien is now a Physics teacher at his old middle school, teaching with only the best puns he could use. The kids LOVE him, he's the most popular teacher there. They actually like going to school. Sometimes, he substitutes for the gym teacher or the science teacher, and the kids are so excited whenever they have an absent teacher because they always hope that they'll have _Mr. Agreste_ there to teach him his terrible puns or play one of their favorite movies. 

One day, Adrien's laying a bad pun on his class when the door creaks open, and the assistant principal is standing there with a clipboard in her hands. "I'm sorry for interrupting your class, Mr. Agreste, but there's someone I'd like you to meet. She'll be the new French teacher here and most of the teachers like her already, and she needs more friends here, so I want you to get closer with her."

She turns around and lightly pushes a petite figure into the classroom, someone so heart-achingly familiar. 

The way the light flicks off of her black locks and the spark in her eyes are still there, and he's still utterly in love with her. 

 _"Marinette,"_ he breathes. 

The woman gasps and runs to Adrien, wrapping her arms around him in a hug, which he so graciously returns. "I've missed you," he whispers into her ear. 

"I've missed you too."

_"Ahem."_

There he is, one of his students, with a smirk on his face. "Care to introduce us?"

Adrien's face flushes and he clears his throat. 

"Sure, Matthew. This is Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, your new French teacher."

"Is she your _girlfriend?"_ One of his students, Anais, calls out. The class snickers. 

 _"I wish,"_ he mutters. Marinette lightly slaps his arm. 

"No, we just go way back."

"You guys don't look that old."

Adrien chuckles. "Anais, it's been ten years since I've seen her, don't be a kiss-up."

"We will discuss those ten years later," Marinette muttered to him with a low voice. Adrien only nods. 

"Well," the assistant principal, Louise, chortles. "It's time for our new teacher to go fill out some forms. Say bye, class!"

As the class calls out their goodbyes, Adrien pulls Marinette close and puts his mouth to her ear. 

"Meet me at our old meeting place, My Lady."

He slips a red blob into her bag. She can only nod. 

* * *

Adrien goes to the very top of the Eiffel Tower at midnight on the dot, only to see that she was already there. 

 _"Where the hell have you been?"_ He hissed. 

"Hawkmoth has been holding me captive."

"Hawkmoth was caught years ago."

"His assistant made sure I still couldn't escape, even though I still had my miraculous."

"My father has been in jail for eight years, Marinette. Was Nathalie with you?"

She nodded. 

He grabbed her wrist and started to run across the rooftops. 

"Where the hell are you taking me, Agreste?"

He didn't respond. 

* * *

They walked into the bakery together. It was filled with life. That waft was back again, the sweets are the sweetest they've been in years. 

The void still couldn't be filled with Marinette gone, and she's back. 

Alya and Nino were sitting by the counters, sipping on milkshakes, while Tom and Sabine were serving Juleka and Rose. 

Chloé and Sabrina were catching up, Ivan and Mylène were laughing together, Nathanaël and Max were hanging out with new couple, Kim and Alix. They got the old gang back together in the bakery, just as a reunion, and Adrien felt it was time to complete it. 

The bell rang and Sabine turned to the door, a sweet smile on her face. 

"Welcome, how may I he-"

And she screamed. 

 _"HOLY FUCKING SHIT, IT'S MARINETTE,"_ Alya shrieked. 

The two dropped their transformations as she was swarmed with all of their old friends, tears slipping and hugs crushing her. 

Adrien was patient with her. He waited until every classmate left until he walked up to her with tears threatening to spill. 

_"Marinette."_

_"Adrien."_

And they grabbed each other in a hug, as if they'd never see each other again. A bone-crushing hug with tears flowing and words exchanging and laughs. 

They went up to his room (which used to be hers) and sat on his bed, Adrien describing everything that's happened in the past ten years in full detail. 

His cheeks were tinged with red when he took her hand and pulled her close. 

"M-Marinette, I-I think.." 

She giggled. "What, Adrien?"

"I think I love you."

She gaped at him. 

"I realized that I loved you when you disappeared, and I never got the chance to tell you, and our lives were a complete mess for like, five years without you."

Her face burned. She probably looked as red and Nathanaël's hair, but she didn't really care. 

"-and I know you probably don't feel the same, but I've just wanted to let you know for years, I'm sorry."

He looked so upset that it broke her heart. 

He was taken by surprise (and mostly shock) when she took his face in her hands and smashed her lips against his, 13 years of sexual frustration getting to the best of her. So he did the only logical thing, and kissed her back. 

She managed to compose a full sentence in between kisses, her voice rushed. "Don't.. you dare.. say that I... don't love you." 

She trailed off with a moan as he pressed kisses down her neck to her collarbone, leaving a red and purple bump right there. 

And, well, you can guess what happened, because by the end of the year, baby Louis was in her arms, being cradled by his mother. 

* * *

Adrien is 33 and has the perfect life. 

Perfect wife, perfect kids, perfect home. He couldn't ask for anything more.

Emma, Louis, and Hugo were running around and laughing, while Marinette was having a macaron. Adrien was doing the laundry for everyone in the household, and Sabine and Tom were washing the dishes. 

Marinette stayed with her parents to help with the bakery. She decided to raise her kids where she had been raised, which joyed Adrien very much, because he got an endless supply of sweets. 

He's still fit, though, she had to give him that. 

And sometimes she gets flustered because she can't believe she managed to snag her hunk of a husband for herself, because hot damn, this man will kill her.

* * *

At 45, she watches as her daughter slings through the sky with a black ring on her hand, and a beautiful girl by her side with ancient earrings and a tight bodysuit, _And maybe,_ she thinks as she's laying next to her husband, _I'll be just fine._


End file.
